My friend Lance wrote me this morning, reminding me that today marks the second anniversary of my becoming a full-time cartoonist, supported solely by Unshelved. And I'm obviously a trend-setter, because Gene Ambaum finally joined me a month ago. Already I'm enjoying the luxury of giving him tasks that are better suited to him. For example I cannot fill out a form without blood leaking from my eyes, whereas he just grits his teeth and fills in the blanks. It's also a true pleasure saying "why don't you do it?" when he makes a helpful suggestion, something that was unthinkable when he had a day job. I trust he's already regretting his decision.

I couldn't have picked a worse economy in which to quit my job, but thanks to the generous support of you, our readers, we manage to pay the mortgage almost every month, for which I am deeply grateful. Thanks to everyone who has bought a book or t-shirt, hired us to do a talk, or patronized our sponsors. You have made it possible for me, and now Gene, to pursue our dreams.

I'm also grateful for Paul Southworth, artist and co-writer of my new comic strip Not Invented Here, and the designer of most of our recent t-shirts. He still has a day job, the poor sap, but check in again next year.